Rockstar lays off staff at Red Dead studio

By Tom Bramwell Published 15 July, 2010

Reductions "typical with game development".

Rockstar has confirmed that it has reduced headcount at its San Diego studio following the release of Red Dead Redemption.

Kotaku reports that as many as 40 people may have been let go, citing "sources close to the developer".

Rockstar didn't comment on that figure, but told the site: "As Rockstar San Diego transitions from the launch of Red Dead Redemption onto future projects, we are realigning our resources in order to continue to develop games as effectively as possible. We are ensuring that all employees who are affected by these changes are being treated with care."

The publisher said the fluctuation in team size was "typical with game development", and that remaining staff were working on Red Dead downloadable content.

Red Dead Redemption recently shipped its five-millionth unit, but it's not all been rosy. During development the game was hit by claims of discontent and abuse at Rockstar San Diego, denied by the publisher, and the game also slipped multiple times.

It was all worth it in the end though, as you'll know if you read our Red Dead Redemption review.

The first 15 minutes of Red Dead Redemption.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (34) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • jaxon58 #1 2 years ago

    That'll be mostly QA then.

  • metalangel #2 2 years ago

    I wonder if this is somehow related to the more "conventional" DLC packs as opposed to big episodes like in GTA4? I'd love two Red Dead episodes, an American soldier and a Mexican migrant perhaps? Or someone trying to rebuild Tumbleweed? Or a Chinese labourer using their earnings to start a business in Blackwater?

  • Fab4 #3 2 years ago

    At least 20 of them were lost on a staff day out to San Diego zoo...mauled by cougars ;)

  • Deckard1 #4 2 years ago

    best rockstar game ever? - check

    Incredible critical reception - check

    Incredible retail performance - check

    So why they sacking off 40 of the people that made it again?

  • mouse Verified Graphic designer, Eurogamer Network #5 2 years ago

    Because studios just do that after a big project is done.

  • anomagnus #6 2 years ago

    @Deckard 1

    I'm taking a guess here, but i'd say that the majority of those people were brought on on a 'project' basis, and are likely to be a mixutre of contact and non permenant staff. As Jaxon points out as well, some of them are bound to be QA, which won't be needed at this point.

    It is fairly standard to hire in the run up to completion, and reduce after delivery.

    As i say, its just a guess, maybe i'm wrong

  • geeza2020 #7 2 years ago

    Ouch, thats gotta hurt. I feel sorry for the guys n gals who have been shown the exit:

    "Congratulations people we just sold our 5 millionth unit!! WOOO HOOOO!!! Oh yeah, and all you lot over in that corner are sacked, bye!"

  • kangarootoo #8 2 years ago

    "It was all worth it in the end though"

    How very community spirited of you Tom.

  • geeza2020 #9 2 years ago

    yes RDR is finished, and it was very succesful, so you would expect R* to keep the same people on to make either a sequel or another game. Well thats what i would do anyway. But then im not involved in the industry at all, so what do i know?

  • clearblue #10 2 years ago

    I guess they're not working on RDR2 anytime soon then. Wasn't this the studio that made table tennis??

  • oupe #11 2 years ago

    R* Table Tennis FTW! Going to buy it again

  • Whatsfor #12 2 years ago

    Lol @ the price on the Zavvi advert for this game. £55.95? Who are they kidding?

  • Mr_Brown #13 2 years ago

    Hope they do a sequel to this, they still have loads of ground to cover in regards to westerns. My personal game of the year at the moment. Especially considering it's motivated me to watch all of Clint Eastwoods movies and some John Wayne movies too, all of which are great.

  • metalangel #14 2 years ago

    @clearblue: Yup. And the astonishing Midnight Club LA.

  • Ryboy #15 2 years ago

    Gee thanks guys, you've made us millions of dollars.

    You're fired.

  • chrisjm #16 2 years ago

    actually 36.95, you'd think when they spend money to advertise they would advertise the right product.

  • reelbigkris #17 2 years ago

    Creative development hires in freelance people to complete a large project. If they have not yet got a new game to be developed yet, then why should they keep an extra 40 people in the studio? This is typical practice for games development teams. Hell, It's even in the film and tv industry. I'm currently the head of development at a TV production company and im on a freelance basis, once the projects i'm working on have been completed, i'll be shown the door and probably hired back when the company have soemthing else they want me to work on.

    Most likely a couple of freelance designers and the QA team are being asked to leave, no biggie, they'll be back!

  • JahB #18 2 years ago

    So why they sacking off 40 of the people that made it again?

    at the end of game, you need a lot more people than you need at the beginning. it's financial suicide to keep 40 people that you won't be needing for the next 12-18 months.

  • loopy #19 2 years ago

    @ reelbigkris

    Yup, that's exactly how it works in most creative industries. Like you said, no big deal, if they have done a good job, they'll most likely be hired again when the next project comes up, it's just the way most freelance work is.

  • kimchibaka #20 2 years ago

    mouse 'Because studios just do that after a big project is done.'

    So why report it?
    Edited by 1 at 15/07/10 @ 12:37

  • makeamazing #21 2 years ago

    Well as far as i read it, EG reported it, Rockstar only confirmed it, but i could be wrong.

  • actionfitz #22 2 years ago

    Infinity Ward Much?

  • Totoriko #23 2 years ago

    They probably got laid off because of the complaints made by Rockstar Spouses.

  • mouse Verified Graphic designer, Eurogamer Network #24 2 years ago

    @kimchibaka

    Hey I don't write the stories, I just make stuff. I was just replying to Deckard as to why it would've happened.

    /curses ambiguous Staff tag
    Edited by 1 at 15/07/10 @ 13:20

  • MrChuckles #25 2 years ago

    Contractors know that they are on 'contracts' when they take the job. Contracts end when the games end. They don't get a bonus, they don't expect a bonus. Usually when contracting you get a slightly higher rate of pay than permanent members of staff, and obviously you don't end up doing as much crunch, because well, why should you?

    But no bonuses, and no job at the end of the project.

    Of course, the star contractors get made permanent, it's like a 6 month job interview really.

    Gone are the days of huge bloated teams with loads of downtime for artists, animators, coders and scripters while the designers come up with the game design for the first 3 months.

  • Stuz359 #26 2 years ago

    Lots of people are generally taken on towards the end of development, basically to deliver the game on time. It's an unfortunate reality of the games industry.

  • JP #27 2 years ago

    Most of the comments here are wrong. When a contractor's contract ends, it's not called a layoff. The reason we're hearing about these is because these were salaried employees.

  • Kinkster #28 2 years ago

    The reports of treating the guys like shit throughout the game should have been a good indicator that they would not be well loved once it was over either. They never laid off at the Leeds studio with the completion of each GTA. On the contrary, they ramped the staffing up, so the "usual practise" argument doesn't really wash for me...

  • SEVQA #29 2 years ago


    "Most likely a couple of freelance designers and the QA team are being asked to leave, no biggie, they'll be back! "

    In the mean time they have Job seekers allowence to look forward to! - Shit, way things are it could happen to anyone init (even you)

  • Murton #30 2 years ago

    Game released, boring MP DLC on the way, QA to the dole office. "Typical of games development?" Unfortunately so, but that doesn't make it right.

    Also massive loss of respect for Rockstar for their comment, job losses should never be in the nature of a company. Manage your resources properly at the start and during the project and you can retain at the end.

  • hiddenranbir #31 2 years ago

    "Thanks for the game, now kindly fuck off!"

    Why is this news? This is "Typical with game development"

  • Marshall2008 #32 2 years ago

    They shot them all at noon.

  • kangarootoo #33 2 years ago

    "Most of the comments here are wrong. When a contractor's contract ends, it's not called a layoff. The reason we're hearing about these is because these were salaried employees."

    This.

  • pervertron #34 2 years ago

    "99% of gaming industry work is contract based and temporary - those people know when they sign up when they'll be finishing"

    What a load of tosh! I've worked for a fair few games companies (5) including some of the big ones and know about quite a lot more, fixed term contract workers are in the minority, and usually in roles like concept art (and some other art) posts SFX and QA.

    As JP said - this isn't about contractee's ending their term of contract - it's about full-time salaried workers being made redundant. I think it's very sad that the studio that made the most critically acclaimed and best selling Rockstar game of the year think it's ok to "reallign ... resources" like this. A bit like when Clover was closed and then they re-released Okami on the Wii to great success. :(
    Edited by 2 at 16/07/10 @ 12:57